Basketball: Ohio alters its non-conference schedule

Ohio basketball tweaked its 2011-12 schedule by swapping out non-conference opponents in December.

Instead of a previously scheduled game against St. Bonaventure (NY), John Groce's team will travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa to play the University of Northern Iowa on December 20.

UNI is a more solid non-conference opponent for Ohio than St. Bonaventure, which Ohio lost to in quadruple-overtime last season.

The Panthers were 20-14 last year and have posted three straight 20-win seasons - eight straight 18-win seasons, too. UNI's 20-win streak is the longest in the Missouri Valley League, and it has participated in postseason play in each of the last three seasons.

In 2010, UNI advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 after a toppling of number-one overall Kansas in the second round. The Panthers participated in the CollegeInsider.com (CIT) postseason tournament in March in the same tournament field as Ohio.

The change for 2011-12 shifts the schedule for the next few years. Ohio will host UNI in Athens in 2013-14, and will play its home-and-home series with St. Bonaventure in 2012-13 (in Ohio) and 2014-15 (in New York).